Category: Abide in Him

Endless love for…


We have heard songs for this and we’ve prayed for it to happen to us but until you realize that you already have it…it never really sinks into your conscience. God has loved every one of us since before the first blade of grass grew in Eden. He has known our weaknesses and our strengths and where and when we would make mistakes and He loves us anyway. Even when we refuse to listen to Him or we turn away from Him for a time and do our own thing…He still loves us. Feeling loved or unloved? Seek God in the Psalms and Proverbs. His love shines so bright that our own Sun cannot be bright enough to make a shadow.

Endless love. The kind of love that lasts not just for a lifetime but for eternity is the love that God has always had for each of us. Will He show this love to us while we are still alive? Yes, and He does it every time you wake up to a new day. When your day goes your way until you get home that was God making your day smooth and productive. God’s Spirit comes to live with you when you accept Jesus as your Savior and He is with you during the good days and the bad ones. He is never any further from you than a breath and a prayer. If you are hurting, the Holy Spirit can fill in the blanks that you can’t pray because of grief or the loss of a loved one. He knows your pain but He will give you the strength to get through it today and tomorrow and the next day too.

The gifts which the Spirit brings to your life will help with so much and add to your life and your enjoyment of it. God does so much for us each day and most of it goes unnoticed because He takes care of little things before they become big ones. Sometimes we ask Him to do something for us and He knows that we don’t need it or that it would cause problems for us later. He answers those prayers by not answering them. We don’t understand His logic but we aren’t supposed to understand Him. He’s God our Savior, our Protector, our Creator and our Redeemer. What more could you want or need?

God watches over the righteous


For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. 1 Peter 3:12 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/1pe.3.12.KJV

When you pray, God hears your prayers. If you are a sinner, the only prayer that He will hear is your prayer for forgiveness and repentance. After that, He will be near you every step of the way. God never turns away from a sinner if they are sincere about turning away from their sins. Only a prayer for forgiveness and repentance from a sinner will be answered instantly, if it is sincere. Just like trying to quit smoking or drinking will not work unless you truly mean it. God knows what is in your heart and He knows what you are thinking. It cannot be hidden from Him.

God does care about and He watches over all of us, sinner and saint alike, and His will for all will be accomplished because His will cannot be undone. The world around us thinks that they can change the future by their actions but the future is in God’s hands and it will happen the way that He says it will in His Word. Look to His Word for your peace and your salvation through Jesus Christ.

Are you following Jesus?


When Jesus called His disciples, He asked them to follow Him and they did. Some of them learned a lot from following Him and listening to His teachings. One of them was dissatisfied with how things were going. He wanted a King for Israel and one who would defeat the Romans and push them out of Israel. But…that was not the reason for Jesus’ mission at the time.

So, are you following Jesus or are you hearing the preacher tell you about Him and then going your own way? Believe it or not, there are more people who are in church just listening than there are who are following Jesus every day and every step of the way. Some who read this will want to know how to follow Jesus every step of the way and here’s the answer: read the Bible each day, praying that He will speak to you about your day and your problems.

God will do that if you are serious about reading it and learning from it exactly Who He is and His love for you. Even if you only read a chapter each day it will focus your thoughts on Him and you will have those Scriptures to help you in your time of need. The thing is: when you read God’s Word, the Holy Spirit can and will speak to you through it. You will never read the same verse twice and get the same message. It will always be a different more useful message even if you’ve read it 100 times!

Walking with Jesus is the same today as it was when the disciples walked with Him. Get up from your bed and thank Him for giving you one more day to live and learn from Him. Go through your day thanking Him for even the little things which seem insignificant but they touch your life or your thoughts in some way. Thank Him for your food and your job and the ride home. Be in a worshipful mood of thankfulness all day because He has given you this day to learn from Him. Thank Him for your day before you go to bed and thank Him for a home to sleep comfortably in because there are so many who don’t have even that “luxury”.

Make this a daily habit and your life will be so much more complete and secure.

Seek and you shall find…Him


Some people wonder where they might find the Truth of Jesus…but will you believe in Him? Some may ask why should I believe in Him? You can choose not to if you wish but that choice will impact your eternity. Why not seek Jesus and the Truth of God’s plan for salvation? It takes faith and the will to believe even when others don’t want to. There are so many choices today, so which will you choose?

We believe in entertainers, professional athletes, money, position, power, money, but none of these can bring you salvation. Regardless of how much money or power or position you may have, when you die it means nothing. Not one penny of your fortune or any part of your fortune goes with you after you breathe your last breath. But if you have faith in Jesus and believe that He is the Son of God Who died for your sins then you will have eternal life with Him! What kind of price could you place on that promise? It is given to you freely and without cost. For the price of your faith and your belief in Him you get a prize which no one on Earth can give you at any cost!

But many people today are burning God’s Word, the Bible, which teaches about Him and how we might come to know Him. They don’t want the good news which is found in its pages. They are afraid of its Truth and all of the wisdom that is in its pages for anyone to read and believe.

Why are they afraid?

Because God’s Word is more powerful than anything that mankind has ever done and all you have to do is have faith and believe in Jesus to claim it. Consider for a moment…the most powerful bomb that we have created. I’m not speaking of the bombs dropped during World War 2. I am speaking of the hydrogen bombs which, thankfully no one in their right mind would drop. The ones dropped in Japan were rated in the kiloton range, meaning that they were equivalent to about ten thousand pounds of TNT each. The hydrogen bombs which we have today are equivalent to millions of pounds of TNT each.

God created stars which put out that much power in one second! Our own star puts out that kind of power in one second and it is considered a dwarf star! It is only approximately 900,000 miles across and there are stars out there that God created which make our Sun look like the Earth next to them in size. Yet with all of His power and majesty and wisdom creating everything that is in this VAST universe, God still knows how many hairs are on your head and mine and everyone else around you. He even notices when a sparrow dies and falls to the ground. Why?

Because He is God, Jesus is also God and the Holy Spirit is also God. Three distinct Persons of the Trinity but still God. The Spirit moves us to know that we are sinners in need of salvation and gives us faith to act on that to seek out our Savior which is Jesus the Son so that we can be reconciled to God the Father

We try to put God in a box of our own choosing so that we can relate to Him. That is why you hear some people say that “my god would not be so cruel” or “my god understands me and we have an arrangement”. Satan has convinced them that they can do this and god will understand when we go fishing or hunting or stay home to watch the ball game. Because they claim that “I can worship from my living room or from a boat or my tree stand”. Have you ever praised God from your boat or a tree stand? I’ve never heard songs of praise or prayers in the woods during deer season. Unless they were something like “Lord, let me get that BIG buck and I’ll be in church every Sunday”.

You can’t bargain with God like that! He knows your heart and He knows exactly where you will be next Sunday and it won’t likely be in His house.

Jesus said:

Ask, Seek, Knock

(Luke 11:5-13)

7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

God loves you!


The title of this is “God Loves You!”. Why would I use such an old, tired, sentence as that? We all know that God loves us because that’s what the gospel says in John 3:16! 

Our problem with this is that we know He loves us but we don’t live as if we love Him! However old you were when you came to the knowledge that you needed Jesus in your life and your heart, whether you were twelve or twenty or even fifty years old, that is supposed to be your spiritual birthday. But…have you grown any since then? Many people accept Jesus as their Savior and then if they mean it, they sit down and they read some Bible stories or a verse or two every Sunday. And that’s it! 

That’s as far as they go. They don’t read the whole Bible. They don’t go to Bible study during the week or on Sunday night. They feel that they have their Jesus and they don’t need to know any more than that. All of this would be great IF they lived their faith and their salvation in front of everyone…every day! But most of us don’t.

Right now more people are leaving the church than there are attending church. At least when it comes to younger people such as 18 to 30-year-olds. They don’t feel connected to the church or they feel like they are being “judged” by the rest of the congregation. Some leave because they have friends who have a lifestyle that is frowned upon in Scripture. 

When the church doesn’t teach young Christians how to live a Christian lifestyle, then how will they know? It seems that our problem is that we don’t know how to live the Christian lifestyle either. Most of us grew up going to church, especially in the South, and we might have walked down the aisle and gotten ourselves baptized by the time we were teens. But we did it mostly because Mom wanted us to or because our friends were doing the same thing. We didn’t know what conviction was or what the Bible taught about sins and their relationship to us. Most of us were just beginning to notice there was a difference between boys and girls.

In John 3:16-18 it says: 

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Life today is hard enough for young people without being told that nearly every thought that you have is sinful. How can you look at a cheerleader without sending your soul to hell? When you are a young man or woman it is nearly impossible. 

When most people read “young Christians”, they automatically think of age that is less than twenty years old. I am speaking of anyone from the age of 10 on up who has accepted Jesus as their Savior. Christians who come to know Jesus, regardless of their age, are as Paul described “babes in Christ”. They have just come to have faith in Jesus as their Savior and they need to be taught about Him and the life that they have in Him. Unfortunately, most are brought into the church and baptized and they are never given much more to go on other than read your Bible or make sure to come to Sunday school.

New believers need to have someone who has been a Christian for a while to teach them and help them find their way through the Bible. Explain some of the hard sayings in the Bible if they can and if not then take them to the pastor and try to clear up the “muddy waters”. This is one of the reasons why many people who join the church and say that they believe in Jesus for their salvation don’t stay long, in my opinion. Let them know that God loves them even more than their parents and friends do so that they will be eager to learn more about Him and their relationship to Him.

Who are you walking with?


In Genesis, the Bible speaks of a man who walked with God named Enoch and God took him to glory or heaven without him experiencing death. I don’t expect to be taken any time soon, unless it is time for it, but I do try to walk with God on a daily basis. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not bragging about my life. I know that I sin quite regularly even when I’m trying not to. But I do ask God to give me strength in my Spirit to at least be able to resist most temptations which come my way. Am I successful in resisting them? Not by a LONG shot! But…I do try.

Living with Jesus as your daily companion is the Christian lifestyle that we are supposed to be living. It is not easy to do although you might think that it is. Enoch did it so why can’t we? He didn’t have all of the distractions that we have today. Cell phones, the Internet, TV shows, movies, etc. can really get your attention away from the study of God’s Word and truly walking daily with Him.

Why do I bring this up today? Because you and I need to be closer to our Lord and Savior now more than ever. Not only is it a good idea but to have a real relationship with someone you have to get to know them. Attending church or a Bible study once or twice a month is not enough. Think about a relationship such as a marriage would work with getting together only once or twice a week and you get my point…it doesn’t work and it could be hazardous to your health.

It is the same with your relationship with Jesus. Being in a real relationship with Him is a learning experience because getting to know Him is only by studying His Word and prayer so that you will recognize His voice when He does speak to you. After giving your heart to Him and allowing the Holy Spirit to come in a truly change your heart is only the first step. Waking up daily and thanking Him for another day to learn about Him and actually following through with the learning part is the part which you have to work at day by day until it becomes a habit.

Many people get caught up in the hype of some “evangelists” who talk of the rewards of being a Christian. They try to sell you a deal and get you to partner with them to be more like Jesus. The truth is that there is no partnership other than being a born-again Child of God and you don’t have to pay a monthly fee for that except for giving your tithe to your local church. This tithe keeps the lights on and the other expenses of the church paid as well as giving the pastor a little bit of cash too. No one is getting rich by preaching and if they are then they are doing it wrong.

God takes care of us without the world’s trappings of wealth and the reward which will be ours in eternity far outweighs any retirement plan here on Earth. Walk with God and His Son, Jesus, and you will have all of the perks which come with knowing your Savior and your Creator as well.

On that day…


It won’t matter how much money you had in this life. It won’t matter if you won an Oscar or an Emmy or a Grammy. It won’t matter if you were the MVP at the Super Bowl or at the World Series.

What will matter is: Do you know Jesus as your Savior and does He know you? There is no gray area for salvation. It’s like being dead or pregnant, you either are or you’re not.

Something is in the closet…


When I was a child, I didn’t have anyone to call for my fears at night. I have never thought about it much before today. I heard a song a little while ago about a child that was scared and didn’t want his Dad to leave.

The thing that we should realize is that when you have Jesus Christ as your Savior, He is always with you no matter where you are. Of course when you are young the dark can be scary. The closet looks scary with the lights off. The air conditioner can make things move and cause shadows to move and your imagination can go into overdrive and make these normal things seem to be much worse than they are.

As Christians, the “monsters” that we face are real but we can’t see them, thankfully. Satan and his demons and principalities can cause real problems in your life. Our only defense is to study God’s Word and have many scriptures memorized so we can use them to fend off their attacks. When you consider all of the wars and problems and everything that is going on in the world, take a look at where these things are happening. Notice that most of them are taking place where God or Jesus or both are not embraced by the culture or the country.

If you don’t believe in God or His Son, Jesus, as your Savior then what are your gods? Who or what do you ask for help in times of need and illness or trials? There is no name under Heaven that brings salvation except the name of Jesus! The previous sentence is a paraphrase of Acts 4:12 but it is the Truth. Believing in Jesus as your Savior and Lord is the only way to get to Heaven or to experience eternal Life! You can keep following other ways or other “prophets” or even other “gods” but none of them will give you life in eternity except Jesus. Others will lead you strait to hell for eternity and that is not Life.

What is in your closet? Is it an old, dusty Bible that you haven’t read in years? Then I suggest getting it out and dusting it off so you can read it and seek God and His Son in its pages. Eternal life is found in no other name except Jesus so make sure that you know Him and that He knows you too while there is still time in this life to make that choice.

God is always near


Psalm 46: 1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Many people think that the other phrase, “God helps those who help themselves”, is in the Bible but it isn’t. It sounds good but the phrase about God being a helper and being with you in troubled times is the one found in Psalm 46. This is not the only one which tells of His ability to help us when we are in need but it is very true that He is and He will if we will call on Him.

It doesn’t matter what sort of trouble you may be in or how you got into such trouble, if you are a child of God and have faith in Jesus as your Savior He is always with you.

Why do I bring this up now? Because of all of the problems and pain that our country and our world is going through right now. The pandemic of this “new” disease which is even less deadly than the flu and it seems to be the most important disease at the moment. Jesus told His disciples that when He went to be with His Father He would send the Helper (Holy Spirit) to teach them and testify of His message in their lives and their ministry. Every Christian has this Helper living on the inside of them and He is always present in every area of our life whether we are going through something good or bad.

Even when we can’t think of the words to pray with, He is praying directly to the Father for us in words which express exactly what the problem is and the urgency of it. The Holy Spirit is our Teacher, our Helper, and our Voice when we are too emotional or maybe too sick or hurt to pray for our problem. That is why Jesus asked the Father to send Him and when you become a Christian, He comes to live in your heart.

When Jesus was baptized by His cousin, John, all three Persons of the Godhead were there. Jesus was there in His humanity, God spoke to those who could hear and the Holy Spirit came and stayed on Jesus in the form of a dove. So truly we do have “God with us” every day that we live after we become a Christian. I pray that whoever reads this will seek to learn about Jesus and His message, seek Him as your Savior and then live every day as if you are walking by His side because once you have accepted Him as your Savior there is a part of Him living within you from that day forward.

How much and how far…


God has lots of patience with us because He has been waiting for nearly two thousand years. So how much more time do you think we have before His patience wears down or until the last person on His list is saved? How far will He allow us to go with our rebellion and the majority of people on Earth rejecting Jesus as their Savior?

These are questions which I can’t answer and neither can you. Jesus told His disciples that when that time comes the world will resemble the world just before the flood which Noah survived in the Ark. Are we there yet? Well, millions of children are killed each day in abortions all over the world, not just here in America. The number of children killed in America only amounts to maybe 850,000 or so every year. That is not an exact number but it is a number which should bother people but most will fight you for their right to kill their “fetus”.

Today we have so many terrorist groups, home-grown I might add, which are doing much the same as those on 9/11 did except not with airplanes. Abraham Lincoln said that our country would tear itself apart from the inside out one day because we wouldn’t be attacked from outside our borders. We have been attacked from outside our borders but it seems that the attacks which do the most harm are those from within.

None of this is outside of God’s notice because He sees and hears every word and every deed done on Earth. One day we will pay the price for our pride and arrogance. I just pray that many more who read this may find their way to a church or to a bookstore and pick up a copy of God’s Word. Read it and pray that you will be forgiven in Jesus’ name because when the time comes it will be sudden and without warning. Those who are ready to meet Him in the air will go and those who are not will be left here to endure the wrath of Satan and the wrath of Almighty God.

For Biblical proof of what is coming and some of what is happening today, read Matthew 24 and all of the book of Revelation. Then pray that you won’t have to endure those dangerous times.